So a few days ago, I get a phone call from a friend saying
"Hey, you do sewing for your hammock stuff right? My wife and I found a sewing machine in our shed, it's been there for years, you want to come over and take a look at it?"
Ugh... These guys live in the middle of the area that got ^&*%&^ by Tropical Storm Irene 2 years ago, literally.. parts of the town they live in completely washed away. The shed they found this thing is not the best, by any means.. It's held together by duct tape, and a prayer. Last winter the roof partially collapsed. But I figured what the hell, something I can scavenge for parts, or maybe accessories.
So I get there, and they're still unburying this thing. So we finally get to something covered in a canvas drop cloth.. And to my shock, underneath it is a sewing table, in amazing condition.
So I pick it up, bring it outside, and open it up to find this:
What you see in that pic is what I saw when I opened it. I hadn't cleaned it, hadn't done anything to it.
So after a minor heart attack, I look through the drawers finding every single accessory, 2 dozen still in package needles, 10 bobbins for it, and a dozen spools of crappy thread on wooden spools and the manual!!!
I do a quick run through of my finances in my head, then ask what they want for it. The response I get gave me my second heart attack: We're getting ready for a garage sale, either you just take it, or we're going to sell it for $5-$10 this weekend.
In the car it went.
Unsure of how to take it apart, I brought it to a local sewing machine service place. They showed me how to open it, and inside : All metal gears.. According to them, if it was ever used, it wasn't used often. It didn't need any repair, they oiled everything down just to do something to get paid.
So I brought it home, tossed the thread in it you see, and played.. and played and played and played.
It was made in 1958, and it cost me a grand total of $25 to have the service place show me how to open it, and oil it.
The cheapo "Simplicity" Thread injector I've been using for 2 years is now unemployed, and it talking about running away from home.
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